On Monday afternoon, the Baseball Hall of Fame released the 25 names up for election into Cooperstown in the summer of 2021.
The 2021 @officialbbwaa Hall of Fame voters will choose from a ballot of 25 players, including 11 newcomers. Results will be announced Jan. 26 live on @MLBNetwork. Check out bios of all 25 candidates here: https://t.co/YjXu5pycbt pic.twitter.com/1Ud9QeCCVj
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) November 16, 2020
Out of the 11 newcomers, former Mets LaTroy Hawkins and Michael Cuddyer stand out. Hawkins was in Queens during the 2013 season, and Cuddyer was a member of the 2015 National League Championship team.
Other former Mets Bobby Abreu, Billy Wagner, Jeff Kent, and Gary Sheffield all remain on the ballot after falling short of the 70% mark in last year’s voting process. Former Met pitchers Rafael Soriano and Aaron Harang were left off the ballot due to not receiving the voting support needed to stay on the ballot last year.
Other notable names that made significant jumps in voting last year were Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, who finished with 61% of the vote, and Curt Schilling, who finished right at 70%. All three players are some of the best to ever grace the field, however all are controversial names in voters’ eyes due to the suspicion of PED usage, among other reasons.
The results of the election will be announced on MLB Network on Tuesday, January 26th.
